USA > Connecticut > Representative men of Connecticut, 1861-1894 > Part 10
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN
The first year, the income of the company was $4,498, and the expenses $530. A decade later, the annual income had crept up to $10, 102, and in 1832, to $52,394, showing for the twenty-one years an average annual gain of about $2300. During part of this period, losses were heavy, and some timid holders gave away their shares to get rid of the note liability. In June, 1835, Eliphalet Terry became president, and continued to hold that office until his death in 1849. The other presidents have been Hezekiah Huntington, from 1849 to 1864; Timothy C. Allyn, from 1864 to '67, and Mr. Chase, the present incumbent, since 1867. Just after Mr. Terry's terin of office began, the company was put to a severe test by a large fire in New York; but it was inet in a way to bring still greater success. Between 1845 and 1849, losses to the amount of over $240,000 occurred in New York, Nantucket, Albany and St. Louis. Sixteen years of exemption from notable disasters ensued, and then in swift succession came the conflagrations at Augusta and Portland, Maine, and at Vicksburg, Miss. From losses incurred in the Chicago fire of 1871, the Hartford paid out over $2,000,000, meeting every obligation in full. Thirteen months later, at the Boston fire of November, 1872, another loss of half a million was met out of the current receipts.
President Clase brought to his position as the executive head of the company, a rich and varied experience, and his skill as a manager was early put to the test in carrying the institution successfully through the calamities at Chicago and Boston, which overwhelmned most of its contemporaries. His management of the company's business and interests lias been matchless in character, placing him in the foremost rank of fire insurance representatives. A large share of the company's growth for the last quarter of a century is due to his watch- fulness over details which often escape the notice of less careful managers.
All of President Chase's energy and ability has not been confined to the company of which he is the head. His standing as an insurance manager was recognized by his associates and competitors in the business from the outset. In the centennial year, he was elected president of the National Board of Underwriters, and is at present the board chairman of the committee of legislation and taxation, by far the most important chairmanship in the organization. His connection with the National Board has been one of commanding influence and leadership, as his strong personality and long experience make themselves felt wherever he goes. A share of his time has been given to financial institutions, and had he not devoted himself to the line of insurance, he would have inade a marked success as a banker. He is a member of the Board of Trustees and one of the vice-presidents of the Society for Savings, which is the largest savings bank in Connecticut ; and is also a trustee of the Connecticut Trust and Safe Deposit Company, and a director in the American National Bank. Of the Hartford Board of Trade he is a prominent member, and is thoroughly interested in the industrial development and prosperity of the city where he occupies so leading and influential a place.
In religious matters, President Chase affiliates with the Congregational Church, and he is a member of the Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford. He has been five times elected president of the Connecticut Congregational Club, of which the late United States Senator Lafayette S. Foster of Norwich was the first president. This club is the most important lay organization connected with the Congregational Church in the state, and it wields an extended influence for good. Into his religious work, President Chase puts some of the same energy and zeal which characterizes his secular affairs, and the results attained arc in similar proportions.
There is one evening in President Chase's life which is indelibly impressed on his memory. A service of twenty-five years as the president of a corporation is not rare, but such expressions of goodwill and kindly feeling are indeed exceptional. In June, 1892, an entertainment was given by the Hartford Fire Insurance Company to their employees, and it was a most enjoyable occasion. The secretaries, together with the general and special agents, during the course of the evening presented him with a silver loving cup, as a testimonial commemorative of his twenty-fifth anniversary as president of the company. It was manufactured from an unique design, and on one side was the following inscription :
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
I867. To GEORGE L. CHASE, President Hartford Fire Insurance Company, on the 25th Anniversary of His Assuming the Office, With Loving Regards of his Co-Workers and Associates, The Secretaries, General and Special Agents Of the Home Office Department, June 15th, 1892.
On the reverse side was a charming etching of Landseer's "Monarch of the Glen," which is the seal and trademark of the company. The cup was a rich and artistic exhibition of the skill of the silversmith. Accompanying it was a handsomely engrossed address which read: 1867. GEORGE L. CHASE, 1892.
President Hartford Fire Insurance Company.
In commemoration of the completion by you of twenty-five years in your present position, the Secretaries, General Agents and Special Agents of the Home Office Departinent ask your acceptance of this LOVING CUP,
as slight but fitting testimonial of the sentiment shared by all fortunate enough to be connected with the "Old Hartford" under your wise and able administration.
We bring you happy greetings On this triumphal day, When five-and-twenty faithful years Of toil have passed away. Midst storm of fiery trial, Among the stalwart few, You guided the "Old Hartford's" course, With steadfast hands and true. God give you grace for duty And strength your place to fill, That you may be for years to come, Our honored leader still.
P. C. ROYCE, THOMAS TURNBULL, CHARLES E. CHASE,
JAMES H. LEIGHTON, JAMES S. CATANACH, THOMAS EGLESTON,
J. W. COVINGTON, W. S. DEWEY,
FREDERICK SAMSON,
A. D. BIRCHARD, GEORGE S. A. YOUNG, C. H. VAN ANTWERP,
PETER A. MCCALLUM,
JAMES M. HODGES,
WV. R. PRESCOTT,
JOHN S. GOLDSMITH,
J. B. MCDONALD.
Wherever President Chase has been seen, as a practical canvasser for insurance in early life, as a railroad official, as head of the oldest and one of the largest fire insurance companies in the state, on boards of financial institutions, in social life, or as a consistent church inember, the same characteristics have marked his career. His indomitable pluck, his steady persistence, coupled with executive ability of rare order, have made him a born leader, and this influence has always been used to upbuild the corporations with which he has been connected, or for the welfare of his fellow citizens. Hartford would be richer than it is now in worthy men, if there were inore of the same stamp within its borders. President Chase is an apt interpreter of art and poetry, and his literary abilities are of no mediocre order. In 1882 he delighted a host of friends by preparing for their entertainment a graphic description of his journey through the western states and the Pacific coast, it being written partly in rhyme and partly in blank verse. The brochure was entitled "To California and Return," and it is to be regretted that he declined to allow its public circulation. A visit to Hawaii in 1893 was made into a popular lecture, and it has been delivered before several interested audiences with great acceptability.
George L. Chase was married Jan. 8, 1851, to Calista M., daughter of Judson and Sarah B. Taft. Three children have been added to the family circle, a son and two daughters. The former, Mr. Charles E. Chase, is assistant secretary of the company of which his father has been president for so many years. The son inarried Helen S. Bourne; they have one daughter. The younger daughter died in 1866. The older daughter married Mr. Charles H. Longley in 1874. She died in 1893.
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REPRESENTATIVE MEN
WIGHT, HENRY CECIL, cx-mayor of the city of Hartford and member of the firm of Dwight, Skinner & Company, was born in Northampton, Mass., Jan. 19, 1841.
His father was the Rev. Henry Augustus Dwight, son of Col. Cecil Dwight of Northampton, and a graduate of Williams College, class of 1829. For twenty years he conducted a classical school in the South, a considerable portion of the time being spent in Norfolk, Va. The mother of General Dwight was Elizabeth, daughter of Capt. William Britnall of New Haven. She was married Dec. 4, 1838, and died Oct. 29, 1843, leaving two sons, Charles Augustus Dwight and the subject of this sketch. Col. Cecil Dwight, the grandfather of the general, was the son of Maj. Timothy Dwight of Northampton, and Mary Edwards, daughter of the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, the noted New England theolo- gian. There were thirteen children by this marriage. Of the number may be mentioned as distinguished leaders in their day, Pres. Timothy Dwight of Yale College, Theodore Dwight, who was secretary of the Hartford Convention, and Nathaniel Dwight, who was one of the originators of the movement that resulted in establishing the retreat for the insane in Hartford.
It is an interesting fact that the life work of each was performed in Connecticut. The present honored head of Yale University, the Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight, belongs to the same family with General Dwight, Major Timothy Dwight having been the ancestor of both. Jonathan Edwards was also a common ancestor. The debt of Connecticut to the Edwards and Dwight representatives is incalculable.
General Dwight's entry into business life was made as a clerk in a leading dry goods house in his native town. He was engaged in this peaceful pursuit when the call to arms was inade in 1861. His patriotism was aroused and he at once enlisted in a three months' regiment, but 011 account of Northampton's quota being filled he was unable to go directly to the front. In September he was largely instrumental in organizing Company A, of the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts Regiment, and, being appointed sergeant-major of the command, he went with it through the Burnside Expedition to North Carolina. Three months after his enlistment, he was appointed second lieutenant of Company H, and in April, 1862, was transferred to his original company and promoted to the first lieutenantcy. In August of the same year he received his commission as captain-a high honor for a young man who had barely attained his majority. It was through faithful and valiant service at the front that Captain Dwight's advancement was won. Until the fall of 1863, he remained with his regiment in North Carolina, and at that time was assigned to provost duty in the city of Norfolk, Va., where he had passed two very pleasant years of his early life under his father's tuition. The spring of 1864 found him again with his regiment, and he accompanied it in the campaign ou the James river under General Butler. Appointed recruiting officer of the Twenty-seventh Regi- ment in November, 1863, he was so successful in this work that under his leadership 343 men rc-enlisted. He served with the Twenty-seventh Regiment until May 16, 1864, when he was assigned to staff service as assistant commissary of subsistence under special order from headquarters. Captain Dwight continued in that branch of the service until his terin of enlistment expired, Sept. 28, 1864.
Just before the close of the war, Captain Dwight removed to Hartford and has since made the capital city his home. At first he engaged in business with E. N. Kellogg & Co., who were large dealers in wool, and later with Austin Dunham & Sons. Deciding to take a stand for himself in the business world, with Mr. Drayton Hillyer, he formed the firin of H. C. Dwighit & Co., which in 1881 became the present firm of Dwight, Skinner & Company. They conduct an extensive wool trade throughout the New England states, and have coll- nections in all the western and southwestern states.
KEmy @ Bright
.
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
In everything which pertains to the welfare of his adopted city, General Dwight has taken deep interest. Naturally he was called upon to serve the public in an official capacity. Elected a member of the Common Council in 1871 from the fourth ward, he brought to the office a large amount of practical good sense which rendered him a valuable accession. He was elected a member of the Board of Aldermen from the same ward in 1875, and was reelected in 1877, giving him two terms in the aldermanic chambers. General Dwight exerted a strong and conservative influence in the board, and was an able debater concerning all municipal interests. He was appointed a member of the board of street commissioners by Mayor Morgan G. Bulkeley, Dec. 27, 1880, succeeding the Rev. Francis Goodwin, resigned. He was reappointed during three subsequent terms, serving continuously from 1880 to 1890. During this entire period he was regarded as one of the foremost men in the department, and represented the best interests of the public in the board. The posi- tion afforded him an excellent opportunity for the display of business qualities.
Noting his faithfulness in the lesser offices, the citizens of Hartford called upon him in April, 1890, to accept still higher honors at their hands. He was chosen mayor of the city, and his administration of affairs was an exceptionally successful one for the city's interests. Bringing to the office a thorough knowledge of the duties acquired by his years of service in the different city departments, he was peculiarly well fitted to make a careful executive functionary. Among the special points of advance made during his occupancy of the mayor's chair may be mentioned : improved apparatus and organization in the fire department, better police administration and the establishment of broader public views with regard to the street service of the city. The first steps in behalf of an increased water supply were taken under Mayor Dwight. His management of municipal affairs was able and economical. His appoint- inents were thoroughly creditable, placing in the city commissions men of experience and training. Mayor Dwight's social qualities enabled him to represent the city on various public occasions with exceptional felicity. The General is one of the most enjoyable post-prandial speakers in the state, and as mayor this attainment was not infrequently brought into requisi- tion. He was in all respects a model public officer, patience, courtesy and high ideals characterizing his administration during the two years in which he was at the head of the city government.
Having rendered such valuable service to the city, it was but natural that he should be nominated for reelection. He received this honor in 'the largest Republican caucus ever held in this city, his name being presented by Judge Nathaniel Shipinan of the United States Court. He was supported by the most eminent citizens here. But the political situation was unfavorable at the time, and the election of his opponent, Hon. William Waldo Hyde, was effected by an unimportant majority. The contest was eminently honorable to both gentlemen. Numerous regrets were expressed at the result. The Hartford Courant fitly voiced the sentiments of Mayor Dwight's large constituency when it said :
Henry C. Dwight retires from the position of mayor under circumstances which take from his defeat all possibility of any reflection upon himself. The whole city recognizes the devotion and self-sacrifice that have marked his interest in Hartford's affairs. He is a loyal gentleman, with a large heart and a true love for the city. He has given his best services for two years to his fellow citizens, and he steps into private life with the consciousness that the whole political atmosphere here is purer and better than when he entered upon his official duties. For his part in this great uprising he has the gratitude of every good citizen, Republican or Democrat, and it is a fact which he cannot but contemplate with pride.
Speaking of the same subject, the Hartford Telegram, a paper politically opposed to Mayor Dwight, used the following complimentary words. Such praise is exceptionally rare between those whom politics divides :
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VALE MAYOR HENRY C. DWIGHT. - It has been the lot of but few public officers of this, or any other city in America, to retire into private life after as long a period of municipal usefulness as Mayor Henry C. Dwight has rendered to his native city, and carry with him the universal approval of all classes of the community. Mayor Dwight has been an honest and upright official, a gallant and courteous gentleman at all times and under trying circumstances; he has been an ornament to his party and a most true and faith- ful guardian of the prosperity of Hartford. In bidding him farewell in his official capacity, the Telegram is sincere in wishing him God-speed socially -may his future in life be strewn with the garlands of prosperity, and may health wait on him and add zest to the blessings that always follow rectitude and a conscientious discharge of public and private duties.
Financial institutions have claimed a share of General Dwight's time and attention. He is vice-president and trustee of the Mechanics' Savings Bank, and is a director in the American National Bank and the Phoenix Insurance Company. In all of these positions his long experience makes his counsel valuable. Interested in the promotion of the public schools, he is a member of the south district school committee, and also sustains official relations with other institutions of the city. As mayor, he was ex officio a member of the Hartford Hospital Corporation, and during the winter of 1892 was elected a member, receiving a unanimous vote. The position is one of the most honorable in the city.
Zealously affected by all that pertains to the welfare of the old soldiers, when Robert O. Tyler Post of the Grand Army of the Republic was organized in 1879, General Dwight became one of the charter members. He is a member of the Loyal Legion and of the societies organized by the armnies of the Potomac and of the James. General Dwight is the president of the Roanoke Association, founded to perpetuate the memories of the Burn- side Expedition. He is also a member of the Army and Navy Club of Connecticut, the most influential of the army organizations in the state. He was appointed paymaster-general on the staff of Governor Henry B. Harrison, serving in that capacity for two years from January, 1885. The office brought him into intimate relations with the National Guard of the state, and greatly increased his personal popularity in Connecticut military circles. On the never to be forgotten battle flag day he served as commander of the Union Veteran Battalion, and occupied the same position on Buckingham Day, when the statue of the great war governor was unveiled.
For his three years' faithful service during the times which "tried men's souls," Mayor Dwight is held in high honor by all soldiers in the War. As a private citizen, Mayor Dwight enjoys the fullest confidence of his contemporaries, and they have shown their appreciation of his many excellent qualities by honoring him in the past. The future doubtless has still higher honors in store for his acceptance. As a business man, he easily occupies a place in the front rank, and in all the relations of life he discharges the duties which devolve upon him with ability and dignity.
General Henry C. Dwight married Annie Maria Wright of this city, daughter of William Lyman Wright, Oct. 3, 1865. The children are, Capt. William Britnall, Charles Augustus, Henry Cecil and Grace V. R. Dwight. The General and his family belong to the Rev. Dr. E. P. Parker's church and occupy a high social position.
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OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894.
EONARD, ELBRIDGE KNOWLTON, M. D., of Rockville, was born at Stafford, Conn., Dec. 13, 1833. It was the same year in which Ex-President Benjamin Harrison and Gen. James B. Weaver, a candidate for the presidency, were born.
Dr. Leonard comes of a sturdy ancestry on both sides of the family line. In Rev. Dr. Fobes's description of Raynham in 1793 is the following bit of history, which also contains a mention of the first of the name in this country: "The first adventurers from England to this country, who were skilled in the forge iron manufacture, were two brothers, viz. : James and Henry Leonard. They came to this town in the year 1652, which was about two years after the first settlers had planted themselves upon this spot, and in the same year these Leonards here built the first forge in America. Henry, not long after, moved to the Jerseys and settled there. James, who was the great progenitor, from whom the whole race of Leonards here sprang, lived and died in this town. He came from Ponterpool, in Mon- mouthshirc, and brought with him his son Thomas, then a small boy, who afterwards worked at the bloomery art with his father, at the forge. This forge was situated on the great road, and having been repaired from generation to generation, it is to this day still in employ. On one side of the damn, at a small distance from each other, stand three large elms and one oak tree. Two of the elins are only three feet in circumference, and are still flourishing. These trees are now alinost one hundred and twenty years old; which, with the ancient buildings and other objects around, present to the eye a scene of the most venerable antiquity. In the distance of one mile and a quarter from this forge is the place called the Fowling Pond, on the northerly side of which once stood King Philip's house. It was called Philip's hunting house, because, in the season most favorable for hunting he resided there, but spent the winter chiefly at Mount Hope, probably for the benefit of the fish. Philip and these Leonards long lived in good neighborhood, and often traded with each other; and such was Philip's friend- ship, that as soon as the war broke out, which was in 1675, he gave out strict orders to all his Indians never to hurt the Leonards. During the war, two houses near the forge were constantly garrisoned. These buildings are yet standing. One of them was built by James Leonard long before King Philip's War. This house still remains in its original Gothic form, and is now inhabited, together with the same paternal spot, by Leonards of the sixth generation. In the cellar under this house, was deposited for a considerable time the head of King Philip; for it seems that even Philip himself shared the fate of kings; lie was decollated, and his head carried about and shown as a curiosity by one Alderman, the Indian who shot him."
From the original James Leonard, who was evidently a man of much force of character, the genealogical line comes down through (2) Uriah, (3) William, (4) Jacob, (5) Jacob, Jr., (6) Rufus, (7) Jenks W. The latter married Lucy F., daughter of Amos Pease of Monson, and his fourth son was the subject of this sketch. Lucy F. Pease was the seventh generation from Robert Pease, who came to this country in the good ship Francis from the port of Ipswich, England, the last of April, 1634, and landed at Boston. He subsequently settled at Salem, and died at the early age of thirty-seven.
Dr. Leonard's father died in 1836, and his early life was spent with his grandparents in Monson, Mass. After passing through the common schools, he finished his education at the Westfield Academy. Being attracted towards the medical profession, he studied faithfully with Dr. Marshall Calkins of Monson for three years. Subsequently he took a regular course of medical lectures at Yale College. Locating in West Stafford, he remained there for nearly two years, and then removed to Broad Brook, where he soon secured a
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profitable practice. I11 1879 he decided there was a better opening for an enterprising physician in Roekville, with less extended travelling, and transferred his residenec to that thriving town. Here he has since remained, and a still greater sueecss has attended liis efforts, as a constantly inereasing list of patients will bear abundant testimony.
Without making a specialty of any portion of the human body, he has devoted himself to the general practice of his profession, and as a broad-minded practitioner he has gained a reputation which places him in the very front rank of the physicians of Tolland County. And now at three score lic is still actively engaged in relieving the woes of suffering humanity, with a rare skill born of his long and varied experience. In 1884, Dr. Leonard was a delegate to the National Medical Convention at Washington, D. C., from Tolland County. In 1889, lie was president and also clerk of the Tolland County Medieal Society, and has been Fellow of the society several times.
Medical practitioners rarely have time to devote to matters outside of their profession, but Dr. Leonard allowed himself to be elected a representative to the state legislature in 1876, from East Windsor. While a resident of that town he was town elerk and treasurer for eight years, and a part of the time was also a member of the board of school visitors. Since he has resided in Rockville he has again occupied the last named position, as the cause of education is still dear to his heart. He is a valuable member both on account of his practical counsel and his zealous interest in the work.
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